Thursday, September 30, 2010

Oh to be whiling away time on a swinging porch chair, gazing at the sky, looking out across a large untamed garden, watching squirrels and bees, just generally pondering this and that...Image from flickr.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Enjoying reading back through Maira Kalman's blog And the Pursuit of Happiness on The New York Times opinion pages. Hilarious, informative, and at time poignant. Her book of the same name is due for release on October 14th.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Hello Friday! How was your week? I hope it went well, and you have a fun weekend planned. Our week flew by full of the usual, and with Saturday just around the corner I'm looking forward to a bit of weekendy-down-time, and catching up on a whole lot of letters and emails. In the meantime, here's what:nots...

Thursday, September 23, 2010

There I was waiting on hold to our NZ insurance co and on came the haunting Drive by the utterly gorgeous Bic Runga. Not only did it make me want to stay on hold, but it made me miss little old NZ. If you're not familiar with Bic's music hop over here and have a listen - she has the most wonderful voice.Image from here.

What exactly are things made of? To get a better idea Dutch artist Christien Meindertsmaspent three years documenting where every.single.part of pig #05049 went. The end result is a fascinating book illustrating the astonishing range of products this little fellow ended up in. You'll be surprised - hop over here to read more, or here to hear Christien talk about what she found. Note: it's not as gross as it sounds! You can also see more of Christien's art here.Image from Inspired.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Goodness. I hope you had a lovely weekend and that your week is off to a good start. Fall is slowly arriving in Portland, and with it cooler temperatures and leaf covered streets. I so love the distinct seasons of the northern hemisphere. I'm a firm believer in 'doing' a season properly. If it's going to be cold - it should be really, really cold and snow. And as much as I love summer, I always enjoy the start of the cooler seasons. How about you? Do you have a favourite season....?Image from Smith & Co.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Friday - at last! How has your week been? I hope you had fun, and the days were kind to you. Mine involved school runs, a driving test (I passed!), an eye test (I failed), numerous appointments, fresh flowers, clothes shopping for the boys (will they ever stop growing?), and horse riding three times. Sadly, with each ride my meagre ability became progressively worse...very demoralising indeed. Anyhoo the weekend is almost upon us, and when R arrives home in a few hours we'll be back to four. Do you have weekend plans? Aside from an afternoon bottling fruit with friends, I plan to do not-very-much-at-all. I hope you have a grand weekend - here's this week's what:nots...

Here's an interesting idea - measuring a country's success not by its productivity levels, but by the happiness and well-being of it's people. It reminds me of the Robert Kennedy speech where he noted how GNP measures everything "except that which makes life worthwhile". Clip from TED.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

This is the first weekend in ages where we've had nothing scheduled, and we've all been home. So I'm making the most of lazy days enjoying the last of the summer sun, hanging out with the boys, and perfecting the art of doing not-very-much-at-all. I hope your weekend is just as sublime - be back soon with what:nots and so on...Image by Irene Suchocki.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

We're back from a wonderfully relaxing long weekend at the beach. The house we had was right on the beach, which meant we were lulled to sleep each night by the sound of the sea. Absolute bliss. I'd forgotten just how much I missed being near the sea, the salty air, the beauty and rhythm of the waves, the dull roar, mist clad hills surrounding the bay...

I hope all has been well in you neck of the woods and the week has been kind to you...hooray tomorrow is Friday!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Hello there. I hope the sun is shining (literally or figuratively) in your neck of the woods. We're taking my family out to the coast for the weekend - I can't wait to escape the city and spend time near the sea. And since I've yet to start packing, here's a very brief what:nots - enjoy!

And a clever idea from Up Up Creative. For those times when life just feels hard, and trying to get through the days is a struggle, Julie creates personalised 'to do' lists that help you take things one at a time.